Engine mounting system



March 13, 1962 G. H. 1EBER ENGINE MOUNTING SYSTEM Filed Dec. 5, `195e 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Y Gus-rm H. DEBER A t* g4 March 13, 1962 G. H.LIEBER 3,024,758

ENGINE MOUNTING SYSTEM l Filed Dec. 5, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR.GusTAv H. DEBER BEL/5- United States Patent Otilce 3,024,758 PatentedMar. 13, 1962 3,024,758 ENGINE MOUNTING SYSTEM Gustav H. Lieber, 516 N.Delaware Ave., Mason City, Iowa Filed Dec. 5, 1958, Ser. No. 778,470 2Claims. (Cl. 11S-41) This invention relates to a new and improvedmounting system for mounting an outboard engine upon a boat, and moreparticularly to a substantially automatic system for moving the mountedmotor between a lowered operating position and an elevated storage andrepair position.

The outboard motors and engines employed with relatively small craft arefrequently heavy in weight and awkward to handle. This is particularlytrue with relatively powerful motors. Consequently, it is difficult formany people to raise the motor from the water when it is necessary toservice the motor or to repair any part thereof. The same difliculty isencountered when the boat is removed from the water, since the propellerportion of the outboard engine must be raised clear of the bottom of theboat to avoid damage during beaching of the boat. With many of theheavier motors, it is frequently diicult to change the angle at whichthe motor is mounted, relative to the boat, tto trim the boat. In fact,with most mounting arrangements, it is almost impossible to change theangle at which the motor is mounted while the boat is operating at anysubstantial speed. The weight of the motor and the difficultyencountered in raising, lowering, or pivoting the motor with respect tothe boat also frequently makes it diflcult to traverse shallow water orweed-tilled areas.

Various power-operated means have heretofore been proposed for raisingand lowering an outboard motor with respect to the boat it is employedto drive. In general, however, these arrangements have required at leastsome modication of the motor or motor mounting arrangement. Moreover,prior art arrangements of this kind, in general, have provided only forraising and lowering of the motor and have not afforded any effectivemeans for changing the angle of attack of the motor propeller.Furthermore, previously known mounting systems of lthe power driven kindhave, in general, failed 4to provide convenient access to the propellerand associated parts of the motor unless the motor is raised completelyabove the transom of the boat, since they are constructed to elevate themotor directly instead of pivoting it upon the transom.

It is a primary object of the invention, therefore, to afford apower-driven mounting system for an outboard engine which may beactuated to pivot the engine, relative to a boat, between a loweredoperating position and an elevated storage and repair position whichaffords relatively convenient access to the motor.

A further object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedoutboard motor mounting system which utilizes, for the most part, theconventional mounting brackets for the motor, and which is effective toposition the motor in any position which would be available withconventional manually operated systems.

Another object of the invention is a new and improved outboard enginemounting system which may be actuated to change the angular alignment ofthe motor with respect to the boat and thus trim the boat, while themotor is in operation and the boat is operating at a substantial speed.

A related object of the yinvention is to maintain an outboard motor atvirtually any operating angle, relative to a boat, and to provide foradjustment of that operating angle during operation of the motor.

A particular object of the invention is to provide for pivotally raisingand lowering an outboard engine by means of a simple and economicalhydraulic system which forms an adjunct to the normal mounting means forthe motor.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedhydraulically operated mounting system for an outboard engine which maybe operated from the engine starter battery and which is effective tolock the motor in any desired posi-tion for a substantially indeniteperiod.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claims and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and whatis now considered to be the best mode for applying those principles.Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalentprinciples may be used and structural changes may be made as desired bythose skilled in the art without departing from the present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. l is an elevation view, partly in cross section, of a part of anengine mounting system constructed in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention and showing an outboard engine mounted upon the transom ofa boat;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation view of the control and power componentsof the engine mounting system of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a partly schematic diagram of the hydraulic and electricalcontrol system for the engine mounting systern of FIGS. l and 2;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation view of a portion of the engine mountingsystem, taken approximately along line 4 4 in FIG. l but drawn to asubstantially larger scale than FIG. l;

FIG. 5 is a detail view taken approximately as indicated by line 5-5 inFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a partial end elevation, similar to FIG. 4, of a differentembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevation taken approximately along line 7-7 in FIG. 6.

In FIGS. 1-5, there is illustrated an engine mounting system formounting an outboard engine upon a boat 10, the system vbeinghydraulically actuated to pivotally raise and lower the outboard motor11 between a lowered operating position, as shown in solid lines in FIG.l, and an elevated storage and repair position generally indicated bythe dash outline 11A. In the illustrated arrangement, the main supportfor the outboard engine 11 is provided by a pair of conventionalmounting brackets, of which only the one bracket 12 is seen in FIG. l,the motor 11 being pivotally movable about an axis dened by ahorizontally extending pivot pin or bolt 13. The bracket mountingarrangement comprising the members 12 and 13 may be of substantiallyconventional construction and therefore has not been shown in particulardetail in the drawings. The brackets 12 are secured to the transom 14 ofthe boat in conventional manner and may be braced with respect to eachother by suitable means such as a connecting bolt 15.

The outboard motor 11 includes the usual engine head 16 which isconnected to a lower or propeller unit 17. The engine head 16 isconnected to thelower unit 17 by means of a shaft housing 18 and also bya housing 19 for the exhaust conduit of the engine. The engine head 16,and the propeller unit 17 may be pivoted relative to the housing 19 bymeans of a suitable handle 22, Ithe two pivoting units beinginterconnected with each other through the shaft housing 18.

As best shown in FIGS. l, 4, and 5, the engine mounting system of theinvention comprises a fluid-pressure operated power device 23 which, inthe illustrated arrangement, includes a pair of hydraulic cylinders 24and 25. The cylinder 24 includes a piston rod 26 which projectsoutwardly of the lower end of the cylinder as shown in each of FIGS. I,3, 4, and 5. A number of ditferent operating cylinders of this generalkind are commercially available; the hydraulic cylinders conventionallyemployed for control operations on aircraft have been founded to bequite suitable, `but other kinds of hydraulically operated cylinders maybe utilized if desired. The cylinder 25 is similar in construction tothe cylinder 24 and includes a piston 27 which projects from the lowerend of the cylinder (see FIG. 4).

The mounting system of the invention further includes means for mountingeither the cylinders or the piston rods of the iluid pressure operateddevice 23 upon the transom 14 of the boat 10. In the illustratedembodiment, this mounting means comprises a pair of mounting plates 28and 29 which are `secured to the external surface of the transom 14 ofthe boat by suitable means such as screws, bolts, or the like. A pair ofbrackets 32 are fixed to the mounting plate 2S, and a corresponding pairof brackets 33 are secured to the mounting plate 29. A shaft 34 isjournaled in and extends between the two sets of brackets 32 and 33,being retained in the brackets by suitable means such as a pair ofretainer pins or keys 35.

A bearing member 36 is mounted upon the shaft 34 and is supported uponthe shaft at a location intermediate the two `brackets 32. The bearingmember 36 is fixed to the end of the end of the piston rod 26 andaffords a pivotal connection between the piston rod and the boat. Anysuitable mounting arrangement may be employed to mount the bearingmember 36 on the piston rod; for example, the end of the piston may bethreaded and may be received in a suit-able tapped opening in thebearing member. At the opposite end of the shaft 34 there is mounted asimilar bearing member 37, which is connected to the piston rod 27 andserves as a sup-port for that piston rod and its associated cylinder 25.

The power device 23, comprising the hydraulic cylinders 24 and 25, isalso pivotally connected to the outboard motor 11, in this instancebeing connected to the shaft housing 18. The connecting means in thisinstance comprises a yoke 38 including two U bolts 39 disposed inencompassing relation to the vertically extending shaft housing 18. Theopposite ends of the yoke 38 are atlixed to a pair of shafts 42 and 43which extend outwardly of the yoke toward the cylinders 24 and 25,respectively. The `shaft 42 is journaled in a bracket 44 that is`aflixed to the cylinder 24, whereas the shaft is similarly journaled ina bracket 45 on the cylinder 25. Axial displacement of the shafts 42 and43 is prevented by suitable means such as a pair of clamp washers 46 and47.

The hydraulic actuating and control system of the invention is bestshown in FIGS. 2 and 3. It includes an electrically operated hydraulicpump S which is associated with a Huid reservoir 51 and which isprovided with an outlet port 52 and an inlet or return port 53. The pumpunit 50 is electrically connected, by means of suitable conductors suchas the wires 54 and 55, -to the starter battery 57 for the outboardengine 11, the battery being shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. A manually operableswitch 56 is incorporated in the electrical circuit for controllingoperation of the electrical motor of the pump unit 50.

The outlet port 52 of the pump is connected to the two intake ports 58`and 59 of the hydraulically operated cylinders 24 and 25, respectively,by means of suitable conduits 61 and 62. The terminal portion 62A of theconduit 62 is formed from a flexible hose or other ilexible conduit. Acheck valve 63 is interposed in the conduit 61 `to limit the directionof fluid through the conduit to that indicated by the arrow 64. Theconduit 62 is also connected, through a manually operable valve 65 tothe inlet or return port 53 of the pump.

The hydrau-lic operating and control system described immediatelyhereinabove is relatively simple in construction iand, indeed, may beconstructed entirely from conventional-hydraulic components Such asthose employed in the operation of retractible automobile tops `and inother similar applications. Despite its simplicity and relatively lowcost, however, the hydraulic system is effective and efficient inoperation and is capable of moving the motor 11 to any one of a numberof different positions, as described more fully hereinafter.

In describing the oper-ation in the mounting system of the invention itmay be assumed that the outboard motor 11 initially is lmounted in theposition shown in FIG. l. The motor is retained in this position by thetwo hydraulic cylinders 24 and 25 and by its own weight. The valve 65 ismaintained in closed position and the switch 56 is open. Under theseconditions, which comprise the normal operating conditions for the motor11, the motor may be operated in the usual manner to drive the boat 10across a body of water.

When it is desired to moor the boat, or under other conditions as setforth in the preliminary portions of this specification, it may bedesirable to elevate the motor 11 to the storage and repair position 11as shown in FIG. l. To accomplish this purpose, it is only necessary forthe operator of the boat to close the switch 56, energizing the motor ofthe electrically driven pump unit 50. When the motor is energized, thepump forces fluid under pressure through the conduits 61 and 62 and thevalve 63 into the two hydraulically driven cylinders 24 `and 25. The twopiston rods 26 and 27 are driven outwardly of the cylinders, forcing thecylinders away from their pivotal connections to the transom 14 of theboat. Consequently, and by virtue of the pivotal connection of thecylinders to the shaft housing 18 of the engine 11, the engine is forcedupwardly and outwardly of the boat transom, pivoting about thehorizontal axis established by the pivot pin 13. Continued operation ofhydraulic system brings the engine to the elevated position 11A, whichrepresents the limit of its pivotal movement. The operator can then openthe switch 56, deenergizing the pump unit 50.

Interruption of operation of the pump unit 50 does not permit the engine11 to return to its original position. The check valve 63 pervents theflow of fluid back to the pump through the conduit 61. The manuallyoperated valve 65, on the other hand, prevents vthe flow of iiuid intothe intake port 53 of the pump. 'Consequently, the fluid which has beenpumped -into the cylinders 24 and 25 can not flow back out of thecylinders and therefore holds the cylinders in their actuated positions.In this manner, the hydraulic system is effective to retain the engine11 in its elevated position 11A for extended periods of time, despitethe fact the pump 50 is not operating.

When it is desired to lower the outboard engine 11 to its originaloperating position, the valve 65 is opened. The opening of this valvepermits the return tlow of the hydraulic operating lluid into the intakeport 53 of the pump and reservoir 50, 51. Accordingly, the fluid withinthe cylinders 24 and 25 is no longer entrapped and the cylinders areable to return to their original actuated position as shown in FIGS. l,4, and 5. The weight of the engine 11 bearing upon the cylinders may besuicient to erTect the desired lowering or return movement of theengine, `On the other hand, a suitable biasing means such as the spring69 may be employed to `accelerate the return movement of the outboardmotor if desired. 1t is thus seen that the control of the entirehydraulically mounting system is easily and effectively accomplished bymeans of the single switch 56 and the manually operated valve 65. Theoperator of the boat is not required to go to the rear end of the -boatto carry out any operation in connection with positioning of theoutboard motor.

During operation of the boat, as noted hereinabove, it may be desirableto change the angular position of the motor to a relatively smalldegree, as when traversing shallow water or in order to trim the boat.For this purpose, it is only necessary for the operator to close theswitch S6 `for `a relatively short time, opening the switch as soon asthe motor 11 has been pivoted a short distance upwardly and outwardly ofthe boat transom. lf the operator overshoots the desired displacement ofthe propeller unit 17, he can lower the outboard engine slightly byopening the valve 65 for a brief interval. Accordingly, it is seen thatthe engine mounting system of the invention permits elective andsubstantially -automatic movement of the motor to almost any desiredangular position relative to the boat between the normal operatingposition shown in solid lines shown in FIG. 1 and `the elevated storageand repair position illustrated by the dash outline 11A.

lFIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate the mounting details for a moditied embodimentof the invention which in most respects is substantially similar to theembodiment of FIGS. 1-5 but which affords some advantages with respectto accommodating the mounting system to engines of ydiilerent types andsizes. In this embodiment of the invention, two hydraulically operatedcylinders are employed, as in the first described embodiment; however,only the one cylinder 124 corresponding to the cylinder 24 isillustrated, since the mounting arrangement for the second cylinder ofthe modified system is substantially similar. The operating cylinder 124-is of course provided with a piston rod 126 extending from one endthereof. `O11 the end of the piston rod 126 there is mounted a ball 127which, with a socket 128, forms a pivotal mounting joint of the familiarball and socket type. The socket 128, is mounted, in any suitablemanner, upon a bracket 129 which, in turn, is aftixed to and supportedby a mounting plate 130. The mounting plate 130 .may be secured to thetransom I14 of the boat by any suitable means such as screws, bolts, orthe like.

The pivotal connection ofthe operating mechanism and the outboard motoris also different, in the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, from the`arrangement shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus, the cylinder 124 is providedwith a mounting boss or plate 132 from which a pin or shaft 133 extends,the shaft .133 projecting approximately normal to the axis of thecylinder 124. A sleeve 134 is mounted upon the shat 133, being retainedthereon by suitable means such as a pin 13S. A second sleeve 136 isaffixed to and supported upon the sleeve 134 and affords a bearing for atransverse shaft 142 which corresponds to the shaft 42 describedhereinabove in connection with FIGS. 4 and 5. The shaft 142 is free torotate within the sleeve 136, which in turn can pivot about the pin orshaft 133, thus alfording essentially the same type of pivotal mountingas provided by the ball and socket joint 127, 128. The shaft or thrustbar 142 supports one side of a. yoke which engages the outboard motor inthe same manner as described hereinabove in regard to FIGS. 4 and 5, andthe mounting arrangement at the opposite side of the outboard motor isof substantially the same construction, the yoke and opposite-sidemounting arrangement being omitted from the drawings.

The utilization of a -ball and socket joint in the pivotal connection ofthe cylinders to the boat transom permits substantial variation in theangular alignment of the two cylinders with respect to each other.Consequently, by moving the two cylinders closer to each other or byspreading them farther apart, the effective height of the thrust barssuch `as the bar 142 can be changed to accommodate motors of dilerentsizes and structural characteristics. These variations in the normalangular alignment of the cylinders also make it unnecessary to maintainexact horizontal alignment of the two mounting plates :for

the cylinders with respect -to each other, since the multiple pivotalarrangement aiorded by the two sleeve joints comprising the sleeves 134and 136 makes it possible to maintain the shaft 142 in a horizontalposition despite the fact -that the two cylinders may be somewhatmisaligned, at their bases, with respect to each other. If desired, itis of course also possible to employ a ball and socket joint to mountthe 4thrust bars on the cylinders as Well as to support the cylindersupon the boat transom.

Hence while the preferred embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described, it is to be understood that these are capableof variation and modification.

I claim:

l. An engine mounting system for mounting an outboard engine upon aboat, comprising: means for pivotally mounting an outboard engine upon aboat for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis; a hydraulicallyoperated power device comprising a pair of cylinder members, a pair ofpiston members mounted within said cylinder members, and a pair ofpiston rod members extending outwardly of respective ones of saidcylinder members; means for mounting one pair of said piston rod andcylinder members upon an external portion of said boat for pivotalmovement with respect thereto; connecting means for pivotally connectingthe other pair of said piston rod and cylinder members to said outboardengine at a point displaced from said horizontal axis, said connectingmeans comprising a yoke pivotally connected at its opposite ends to saidother pair of members and yadapted to be attached in encompassingrelation to a vertically extending portion of said engine; a hydraulicpump; and conduit means, including a manually-operated control valvewith manual operating means accessible to the operator of the boat fromthe boat-driving seat, for connecting said pump to said cylinder membersto apply fluid thereto, under pressure, to move said piston and pistonrod members relative to said cylinder members and pivot said engine,about said axis, between a lowered operating position and an elevatedstorage and repair position and to maintain the relative positions ofsaid piston rod members yand said cylinder members and keep the enginein a trimmed operating position when said manually-operated valve isclosed.

2. For use in pivoting an outboard engine from a lowered operatingposition on a transom of a boat about a horizontal axis to an elevatedstorage and repair position, engine pivoting mechanism comprising; apair of hydraulic units including outer cylinders and inner pistonshaving rods projecting from said cylinders, brackets for pivotallyconnecting said piston rods to the transom of a boat, a cross pieceincluding a yoke member adapted to encircle a drive shaft housing of anoutboard engine, said cross piece being pivotally connected at oppositeends to said cylinders, a hydraulic pump connected to each of saidyhydraulic units to supply pressurized hydraulic fluid thereto to movesaid outer cylinders relative to said p-iston rods and thereby exert aforce through said yoke for pivoting an outboard engine from a lower toan elevated position, and valve means for controlling the iiow ofhydraulic uid from said pump to said hydraulic units to regulate theangular disposition of an outboard motor relative to the transom of aboat.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,244,213 Patton Iune 3, 1941 2,747,536 Russell May 29, 1956 2,755,766Wanzer July 24, 1956 Notice 0f Adverse Decision in Interference InInterference No. 93,562 involving Patent No. 3,024,758, G. H. Lieber,ENGINE MOUNTING SYSTEM, final judgment adverse to the patentee wasrendered Mar. 30, 1966, as to claims l and 2. n

[Ojcz'aZ Gazfee June 28, 1.966.]

